Fish gaff



March 18, 1952 B; l.. HERRINGTON 2,589,612

FISH GAFF FlriL F152;

l Arrow/[Ys Patented Mar. 18, 1952 FISH GAFF Bert Lee Herrington,deceased, late of Klamath Falls, Oreg., by' Lillie A. Herrington,administratrix, Klamath Falls, Oreg.

Application September 1:3, 1947, Serial No. 773,782

4 Claims.

This invention relates to gafls used in landing iish after the same havebeen caught as by means of a hook and line.

It is an object of this invention to provide a gaff which willautomatically gaff the fish when it is thrust into contact with thefishs body.

Another object of this invention is to provide a gaff in which the hooksor prong portions are enclosed between guard members to preventaccidental hooking or gaifing of the user.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear from thefollowing specification taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing a gai? incorporating thisinvention, and

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the gaif showing this invention,and

Figure 3 is a view of the gaif portion shown in Figure 1 in operation.

As shown in Figure 1 the gaff consists of a handle I at the upper end ofa shaft II the lower end of which is provided with a butt member I2.Extending downwardly from the member I2 is a pair of identical andopposed yieldable guard members I3 and I4 which are preferably made ofresilient spring steel and which are shaped substantially as shown toprovide a space between them at their lower ends. Adjacent the guardmembers I3 and I4, as shown, are identical opposed hook members I5 andI6 which are suitably mounted in member I2 and which are likewise madeof resilient material. The shanks of members I5 and I6 are coiled at I'Iand I 8 which further increases the resiliency of the members I5 and I6and tends to urge them into closed or unsprung position.

Guard members I3 and I4 are provided with a pair of elongated orces 2|and 22 through which the hook portions 23 and 24 of members I5 and I6respectively project inwardly and toward each other, as shown. It willbe noted that the members I3 and I4 are flat and may be formed of strapmaterial and, as shown in Figure 2, they are substantially wider thanthe members I5 and I6. It will further be noted that the members I3 andI4 lie closely against the members I5 and I6 and that all of the membersare close together. Thus the area between the members I3 and I4 isalmost entirely bounded by the rather broad members I3 and I4. Becauseof their breadth members I3 and I4 therefore provide, in eiTect, aprotective zone within which the hooks 23 and 24 lie.

In unsprung position, members I5 and I6 lie closely against members I3and I 4 substantialli7 as shown in Figure 1. Those portions of membersI3 and I4 below the oriiices 2| and 22 are flared outwardly to providean enlarged area between the guard members I3 and I4 in order toincrease the effective mouth opening of the gai.

When the gaff is thrust at an object 26, such as a sh, the same willpass between the flared ends of guard members I3 and I4 and, since theguard members are resilient, urge them apart. When the member 26contacts the portions 23 and 24V of the hooks I5 and I6, they too willbe urgedv apart and, as is shown, may be urged away from engagement withmembers I3 and I4 as shown in Figure 1. The orifices 2I and 22 are ofsuch size that members 23 and 24 may be urged very nearly out of theorifices and out of contact with members I3 and I4, thereby increasingto the utmost the effective space between the guard members I3 and I4and the hooks 23 and 24 to permit the entry of the sh into that space.

When the gaff has been thrust over a sh or other object 26 to be gaffed,a reverse pull on the handle I0 forces the hook portions of the membersI 5 and I 6 into the body. 'I'his tends to hook the body 26 and retainthe same. Further pull on handle I0 tends to force the hooks 23 and 24further into the body.

The object 26 may be released from the gaff by moving it toward themember I2 in which event both the hooks 23 and 24 and the resilientmembers I3 and I4 will be urged apart. When the object 26 is free of thehooks it may be removed transversely of the gaff or one may grasp theared out portions of members I3 and I4 and retain the same in theirseparated positions whereupon the body 26 may be withdrawnlongitudinally of the gaff without further damage.

It is obvious that this gai is unique in its operation and also providessubstantial guard against its hooking or gading the user. 'I'he only wayin which an object 26, either a iish, arm, leg, etc., may be engaged bythis gai is to pass between the guard members I3 and I4 at their flaredopening. The guard members I3 and I4 and the hooks 23 and 24 must bepositively forced apart before an object may be grasped between them.When this gaff is placed on the deck of a boat or on the floor of anautomobile when it is being transported, a person may step upon the sameor otherwise contact it without fear of being hooked or gafTed. He mayonly be hooked if the gaff is thrust over his arm or leg or some otherportion of his body and the mem- 3 bers 23 and 24 are positivelyseparated by a pressure exerted on the handle or shaft of the gai. Theweight of the gaff by itself is not suicient to urge the members I5 andI B and the hook members 23 and 24 apart.

It is obvious that this is a positively acting gaff which is safe at alltimes and whose utility is not decreased by the addition of the safetyfeatures.

It is claimed:

1. In a iish ga, a pair of normally spaced and yieldably mounted opposedgafng hooks, a pair of yieldably mounted guard members each of which isprovided with an orifice, the hook portions of said hooks projectingthrough said orifices. f

2. In a fish gaii, a pair of spaced opposed gafling hooks yieldablymounted in the same plane, each of the said hooks comprising a shank anda hook portion, a pair of yieldably mounted guard members, said guardmembers being mounted between the Shanks of said hooks, and orifices insaid guard members through which said hook portions project.

3. In a fish gai, opposed gading. hooks, yieldably mounted and urgedtogether and lying in the same plane, each of said hooks comprising ashank and a hook portion, said hook portions being in the same plane andpointed toward each other, a pair of yieldably mounted guard mem- `4bers spaced apart, said guard members lying between the Shanks of saidhooks and provided with orifices which cooperate with said hook portionswhereby said hook portions may project into the space between said guardmembers.

4. In a, fish gaff, a plurality of yieldably mounted gafng hooksnormally urged together, each of said hooks comprising a shank and ahook portion, said hook portions being in the same plane and beingpointed toward each other, a pair of slotted guard members beingyieldably mounted and spaced apart, said guard members adapted to liebetween the Shanks of said hooks, the hook portions projecting throughthe slotted guard members into the space between said guard members andto be operated independently of said guard members.

LILLIE A. HERRINGTON, Administratrzx of the Estate of Bert LeeHerringtofn, Deceased.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,085,843 Bemis Feb. 3, 19141,206,733 Sirard Nov. 28, 1916 2,319,686 Janisch May 18, 1943

